


Power

by ChokolatteJedi



Category: Frozen (2013)
Genre: Choices, Freedom, Gen, Snow and Ice
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-12
Updated: 2014-01-12
Packaged: 2018-01-14 04:11:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1252300
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChokolatteJedi/pseuds/ChokolatteJedi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Elsa is on her own, and she wants to see what she can do</p>
            </blockquote>





	Power

Cresting the snowy rise, Elsa looked back towards Arendelle. She couldn't see it through the mountains, but she hoped she was far enough away. Soon the snow and ice that she had created there would fade away, and everything would go back to the way it had been before. Anna was young, and impetuous, but once she settled down a little she would make a good queen.

It was then that Elsa realized that she had no intention of going home. Ever. That thought gave her pause, and she looked around the mountainous peaks. Could she really stay here? She had been miserable at home, but could she really survive alone out here? Could she… it would mean using her powers. _Really_ using them.

It had been so long since Elsa had purposefully used her powers that she was afraid she wouldn't be able to control them at all anymore. Had her earlier outburst become all she was capable of? But when she tentatively tried, the snow swirled away from her hands in little flurries as it always had, and she felt that old rousing of joy. For the first time in forever Elsa smiled.

The snowman burst to life, looking just as she remembered. It was a reminder of the past she had been escaping, and at that thought her heart sank a little. But Elsa was far from Arendelle, and far from Anna, and the past was long behind her. Throwing more bursts of snow from her hands, Elsa felt the amazing feeling of power and rightness swelling. This was how she should feel!

Elsa wanted to really test the limits of her powers, in a way she never had before, and suddenly an image of the grand staircase sprung onto her mind. Shooting out her hands, Elsa imagined the staircase, and to her delighted surprise, a gorgeously detailed flight of stairs blossomed from the snow. Remembering her childhood, Elsa stepped gently on the bottom step, and it crystalized before her eyes.

Running up the stairs, Elsa felt the emotion swell within her, rising as her feet did to an incredible height. This was the most amazing feeling ever; her power surged through her as though it was supposed to be there. What she imagined had become reality, and it felt _amazing_.

If she could make this so easily, what else could she make?

Elsa pictured the grand ballroom at home, where she had played for years with her sister before the accident. Throwing out her hands and stomping down her foot, she felt her power spill forth in a wave, spreading around her and creating the ballroom she had longed for. The floor traced out an intricate pattern, and the walls formed faceted nooks and crannies more complex than the one at home.

Raising her arms, she felt the tension pulling the ice, and almost effortlessly she rose into the air. Ice bloomed around her, racing over imagined lines and sprouting into chandeliers, windows, banisters, and all the trappings of home. But instead of the sturdy wood and marble that she had so often covered in frost, this palace was all ice; thin, delicate, and shining with the refracted light. The curls and sweeping curves of home replaced with spiky, angular shapes. Fractal patterns hidden within the ice sheets hinted at a depth to her creation that took Elsa's breath away.

Looking around, Elsa couldn't believe that all of this magic had come from her. She had spent so long clutching her gloves, desperately praying for control and hating her powers. To use them now - to push them beyond any limits she could have dreamed of and still feel full of life - was overwhelming.

Was this what she had been missing out on all of these years? Hiding in her room, Elsa had dreamed of the way she and Anna used to play: of snowdrifts, ice skating, and building snowmen. But had she really been capable of all this? Could she really have become this powerful? Her powers had been something she had fought against for years; could they really be this strong? Could she really have felt this glorious all along?

In an instant, Elsa resented her parents for forcing her to contain her powers, despite what had happened with Anna. And for the first time in her life, she resented Anna for her part in Elsa's pain. Anna had been going too fast, jumping too high. Elsa had told her to slow down, but she didn't.

If it wasn't for Anna, or her parents, Elsa could have kept using her powers all along. She could have felt this amazing energy all along!

Almost instantly, Elsa regretted her resentment. She loved Anna, and her parents, and she had always blamed herself for Anna's accident. She was older; she should have known better. The trolls had said that her powers needed to be controlled, and her parents had only done what they advised.

Perhaps this amazing feeling was wrong. If the trolls thought she needed to be controlled, maybe she did need to contain her power. Maybe it needed to be bottled back up deep inside, where it wouldn't hurt anyone again. Conceal; don't feel.

But no, that was why Elsa had run here, as far away from Arendelle as she could get. She was far enough away that no one, not even Anna, could find her. And she couldn't hurt anyone again. If no one else was in danger, why should Elsa hide? Why should she keep her powers locked up tight? Why shouldn't she create this amazing place for herself?

Elsa had never minded being cold, and she had spent years alone. And it felt so amazing to not have to hide her real self anymore. She could live here forever and not miss home at all.

_Do you want to build a snowman?_

Mostly.

Elsa looked around at her crystalline ice palace, and then gazed out over the snowy crags. She was alone, but that didn't matter. She was cold, but that didn't matter either. Here, in the ice and snow, Elsa could finally be herself, and that was what mattered.

This was where she belonged.


End file.
